Philip Rivers plays here. Drew Brees used to and still spends substantial time in town. Carson Palmer resides along the coast. Aaron Rodgers is a part-time resident.

Add to the list of those NFL stars that are making San Diego into Quarterback County, USA, the name of a guy who played quarterback at Division II Tiffin University and also three years in Arena Football.

George Whitfield, the somewhat accidental quarterback guru.

“Man,” Whitfield said Friday, “I’m not too far removed from working with high school kids in the Little League outfield with the dad barking out everything I just barked out. I’m not far from running a beach workout with 11 middle school kids and you lose their attention at the exact same moment because dolphins popped up out of the water, and you have to give them that time because you know how old they are.”

It was just a half-dozen years ago that I was watching Chargers practices with Whitfield, impressed by his knowledge, captivated by his earnestness, yet wondering what he truly had to offer.

Turns out, due to a little good fortune, an overwhelming need to know everything ever said or written about being a quarterback, the built-in ability to teach and a love for working on his craft, the answer is more than anyone thought possible, including Whitfield.

When Andrew Luck is drafted by the Indianapolis Colts next week, he will become the second straight quarterback to have spent the spring training with Whitfield and then become the No.1 overall pick in the NFL draft.

Three years ago, Whitfield was hired to work with draft prospects Hunter Cantwell and Chase Clement. Neither was drafted. The next spring, he worked with Tony Pike, who ended up being selected in the sixth round.

At the time, Whitfield’s business consisted mostly of working with junior high and high school quarterbacks, including former Valhalla standout Pete Thomas. It wasn’t a bad gig, even if sometimes clients fell behind and then quit paying altogether and the work was mostly seasonal.

Then came the call from agent Ryan Tollner, who represented Cantwell, Clement and Pike. Tollner had an established client who had run afoul of the NFL and would be serving a four-game suspension to start the 2010 season.

That’s how Whitfield came to spend a month in Pittsburgh training Ben Roethlisberger for a season that was considered among Roethlisberger’s finest and almost resulted in the Steelers winning a third Super Bowl with him at quarterback.

“It didn’t hit me at the time that it was an opportunity,” Whitfield said. “It hit me that it was a responsibility.”

But it was most certainly an opportunity.

Based on acclaim for his work with Roethlisberger, Whitfield was hired last year to transform Heisman Trophy-winner Cam Newton in an attempt to assure that the Carolina Panthers wouldn’t be dissuaded from making him the top pick.

It worked, and when Luck decided to hire his first-ever private tutor this year, he sought out Whitfield.

Unlike Newton, who had essentially played just one year of college football and had won the Heisman Trophy so on the strength of raw talent and unquenchable will and despite remedial quarterbacking skills, Luck has long been considered as NFL-ready as any QB since the advent of the Internet.

“The initial thought was I needed some help as we prepared for my Pro Day,” Luck said. “I knew he’d worked with (Ben) Roethlisberger and Cam. He’s had some experience with Pro Days.”

Luck and Whitfield met in Los Angeles in January, and Luck shared what he felt his weaknesses were and asked Whitfield what the coach would do to refine and improve those things.

“I was impressed with his drills,” Luck said. “I knew I would like what he was trying to do.”

They worked out in Los Angeles prior to the Combine, and then in Stanford in the weeks leading up to Luck’s Pro Day.

While Whitfield was in Stanford, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones and Clemson quarterback Taj Boyd came out to spend their spring breaks working with him.

Watching Whitfield’s workouts are as entertaining as they are enlightening.

He seems to pull from his backside some of the things he puts guys through. And that’s sort of the point.

Whitfield’s drills are designed to turn the unorthodox into the natural, making the unexpected into the innate, fusing instinct with fundamentals.

He is a scientist, but a mad one. He’s all about proper technique, especially footwork, but there is nothing “on script” about his drills. He has players catch snaps under duress, throw with him chasing them, often waving a broom in their face. He has them throw on the run to moving receivers over “defenders” holding tall sticks.

“The only way a defense can affect you is to stress you,” Whitfield said at one point in a workout in San Diego last month with Pete Thomas, now at North Carolina State, and Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas.

“When I started, it was just me and another guy,” Pete Thomas said of his time with Whitfield. “Now he’s blown up.”

Look, Luck was going to be taken first overall even if my high school English teach, Mrs. Critchley, had been his QB coach.

But Luck acknowledged Whitfield’s help recently in saying: “I think I’ve gotten sharper on the throws from awkward positions. That’s what he does. He's helped me.”